SDG 3: Good health and wellbeing

Malaysia produces approximately 2.4 billion pieces of sanitary waste a year. This is equivalent to 2,400 tonnes or 480 garbage trucks full of sanitary pads. To counter this, my first step to reducing waste in landfills is to use reusable menstrual cups from this day onwards. I believe this is a small step to creating a big movement in the right direction.

- Stop using plastic bags and use reusable bags instead. - Use keep cup to reduce plastic and paper cups - Reuse, reduce and recycle more - Use an alternative source of energy, cleaner version such as solar and focus your future on that.

Although I have taken steps to reduce my reliance on commercially bought foods by implementing veggie patches and tailoring my diet to be more sustainable, sometimes it is very difficult to say no to the conveniently available products on grocery aisles. These shelves are usually filled with foods from large conglomerate companies with extensive outreach. It is important to be wise about each individual food item as detrimental climate harm can be wickedly masked behind bright branding, and sometimes even 'green-approved' labels. Therefore, I have been doing research before purchasing and when I do find a sustainable item, I am sure to advertise it to my friends and family so they can contribute towards a cleaner planet. I intend to do enough research into products to be able to form a weekly meal plan based on actual sustainable foods.

In 2020 I became the Youth Member for the electorate of Currumbin appointed to the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee in the Queensland Youth Parliament. One of the many things I did during my tenure was publish an article on Australia's $10 billion food waste issue. Although it's far from being a glamorous topic of conversation, food waste is something I'm actually quite passionate about. For years I've been researching and discussing the multifarious implications of food waste and brainstorming ways in which to mitigate this global phenomenon. In 2018 after being in the first cohort to complete the Macquarie University Incubator's pilot 'Go Start' Program, I participated in the Sydney-Hong Kong Ideation Exchange Program where I spent two-weeks visiting start-ups, universities and businesses in Australia, Hong Kong and China. During this time, I co-created a new start-up called 'Ag-Eye' which sought to utilise drone and smart technology to facilitate farming practices; reducing costs, manpower expenditures and food waste for Australian farmers. In 2019 I wrote my thesis for my major in anthropology at Macquarie University on the benefits of community gardens. Through my six months of participant observation research I found that community gardens had a plethora of mental, physical, environmental and monetary benefits to individuals, families and communities - in particular newly arrived immigrants. My goal with this 'Take One Step' initiative is to continue my journey and challenge students, staff, residential halls and food venues at Monash University to mitigate the amount of food they waste.

Many of our generations are living in a capitalistic society that is extremely convenient and demands constant growth. However, against the backdrop of excessive economic growth and convenience, the global environment is being destroyed and we are facing a climate crisis. I am a master's student in the Cultural and Creative Industries, and I am convinced that the culture of each ethnic group's ancestors and the wisdom of their lives contain various lessons for living in harmony with nature and animals. Therefore, my 'Take One Step' is to create a platform for people from diverse cultural backgrounds to share earth-friendly services, products, and ideas using their own culture and knowledge. “Project of MOTTAINAI” is the name given to this project. The word "MOTTAINAI" is a Japanese word used to describe something that is being thrown away unnecessarily or to express regret about it. In this project, for example, as a Japanese person, I would like to share the idea of "Kintsugi", which means that when a piece of pottery is chipped, you can use gold to connect the chipped part and use it for many years, or you can use unnecessary clothes (kimonos) as rags for cleaning. Other examples include the way indigenous Australians deal with nature, which was introduced in the best-selling book "Sand Talk" as a lesson on the climate crisis, and I feel that such wisdom would be a “MOTTAINAI” if it is not utilized. I also learned that in Australia, people can live comfortably in double-brick houses without using much air conditioning or heating. The purpose of this project is to spread the wisdom and culture of our ancestors, which have gradually fallen into disuse in our convenient modern society, to society once again, feeling that it is a waste that they are not being passed on. At Monash University, where people from diverse cultural backgrounds gather from around the world, there will be a wealth of knowledge that can be shared. I believe that the creativity to learn this knowledge and devise ways of living in our daily lives, as well as the knowledge to change our products to be more earth-friendly, will be extremely valuable.

Since the beginning of this year, I have been trying to find more sustainable solutions when it comes to cleaning. The cleaning products found in commercial markets are often loaded with harsh and toxic chemicals that can pose serious health risks to both humans and animals with prolonged use. In a world where the 'DIY' movement is becoming increasingly popular, I thought I would focus my efforts onto DIY cleaning solutions. Some major benefits of DIY cleaners include: 1. Knowing exactly what ingredients are going into your products. 2. Getting to make more ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY decisions: like switching to essential oils, creating unique concoctions using baking soda and vinegar, using sustainable packaging for storage etc. 3. Posing zero health risks as almost all the ingredients used can be found in your own kitchen. Here's a tip: These products are not nearly as strong as the ones you find in the market, so instead of opting for a deep clean every other week, try cleaning up every couple of days. This is when I've noticed them to be the most effective. My aim is to slowly transition into other DIY alternatives (e.g. sustainable bath products) once I have gotten used to creating and implementing these products in and around my home.

With economies like India advancing to middle class economies and increasing consumption levels, it is correct time to direct consumer towards sustainable living practices and products. Seeing a gap in this place, we are setting up an online sustainable living marketplace initially for the Indian Market. Where we are tying up with vendors having organic food material, Cycles, indoor and outdoor plants and planters, reusable sanitary pads and many more such products. Some of Earthgasm's own products are made by up cycling waste wooden products, and we tend to keep a branch which collects such waste products and make beautiful products using it. Currently we have secured partnership with 4 vendors, and our portal is under development. So, in the coming 1 month we will be launching our marketplace for India.

Single use plastics are made of petrochemicals and are commonly used in inordinate amounts to package foodstuffs and goods. Moreover, many of these are composed of endocrine disruptors and in addition to being damaging to the health of human beings, are also hugely detrimental to animals and sealife. Consequently, I want to reduce my plastic waste and I pledge to refuse to use single-use plastics.

The cycle of lockdowns during the pandemic has made it hard for many to maintain a healthy exercise schedule, or to even find the motivation to make one. At the start of the first lockdown I had made a goal to walk 10,000 steps a day, only to give up on it within a few weeks. But last month I discovered an app that just might be the push that I (and others like me) need to get started again. The app is called World Walking, a place where groups of people can embark on virtual treks in different locations around the world. This includes being able to view your position on a world map (as well as a more immersive street view) to see just how far you've walked and the cities (or even countries) you've passed through. And all of this can even be done collaboratively, meaning that the cumulative daily steps that you and your friends make contribute to the overall trek progress, so that large international distances become more feasible. I had initially used the app to run a small competition for a health club that I am involved in at Monash. But seeing how well it was received I've decided to make it the focus of my first pledge. I will be joining a group on the Walking World App to participate in a trek, and by encouraging others I know to join me I will contribute to SDG 3.4. Not only will it allow us to get back on track with our personal health goals, but the collaborative nature of the trek will hopefully unify the group in their common objective (something that is especially important in this time of social disconnect). I'll leave the link here for others to check it out: https://worldwalking.org/ I think there's potential for this to be incorporated with other SDG criteria, for example every time you make progress on a virtual trek you can spend time learning about the area you are in (to make for a more immersive experience) and additionally donate to a local cause. This is something I am hoping to explore over the coming few months.

Taking a permaculture design course so I can learn about regenerative agriculture and making the most of the resources I have available to me. A lot can be grown in a backyard. I've been growing veggies for some time already, the photo is part of my harvest from 2020.